"They told me I just had a blob of tissue. You are the ones telling the truth!"

The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) survey indicating the impact of ultrasound, released March 3, should be a strong encouragement to the pregnancy help community.

NIFLA, with 1,350 members nationwide, including 1,050 operating medical clinics, asked members to report 2013 statistics on the percentages of at-risk for abortion clients who choose life after ultrasound.

The results?

Four hundred and ten (410) NIFLA-affiliated members responded, reporting 75,318 ultrasound confirmations on patients identified as at-risk for abortion. Of those, 58,634 chose to carry to term, a rate of 78 percent.

When asked whether ultrasound confirmation had a positive impact on their decision, 83.5 percent of mothers said, “Absolutely.” Meanwhile, 15.8 percent used the phrase, “More than likely,” compared to less than 1 percent (.74 percent) said, “Only a small impact.”

On one hand, abortion advocates downplay surveys such as NIFLA’s, trying to make a case that ultrasound has no impact at all on a woman’s or couple’s decision to choose life. Yet on the other, pregnancy help medical clinics are being attacked by NARAL (see, Maryland) in blatant attempts to shut down ultrasound.

Actions speak louder than words, indicating there is genuine fear in the abortion community regarding the impact of ultrasound on a patient’s decision-making process.

Cindi Adair of LifeLine Pregnancy Center in Wilmington, N.C. is seeing results similar to the survey. The center began offering ultrasound in 2010, and over a five-year period, has performed 2,225 scans, with 1,044 of those scans performed on women meeting the requirements of “at-risk” for abortion.

Of those 1,044 scans, 973 women chose life, for a life-decision rate of 93.1 percent.

“I’ll never forget the 15-year-old girl who, upon seeing her child’s ultrasound image, started crying,” Adair said. “When asked why she was crying she said, ‘Everyone lied to me. They told me that I just had a blob of tissue and so it was no big deal. You are the ones telling the truth!’”

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NIFLA President Tom Glessner, in a press release on the survey, points out that what pregnancy help organizations have been saying for years is true.

“These results show conclusively what we have known for many years,” Glessner said. “When a prolife pregnancy center becomes a medical clinic and provides ultrasound confirmation of pregnancy, the vast majority of patients receiving such services will choose life.”

Glessner also noted that the sampling was from less than half of NIFLA’s current medical membership. NIFLA will be conducting this survey annually.

NIFLA’s report is a reminder that statistics are more than numbers. For PHOs, it is vitally important to report back the good news as well as the challenging numbers that are not as strong as we would like.

In this case, more reporting would have likely built on a strong narrative, contributing to the national impact of the survey. Surveys like this also allow pregnancy help organizations to be better connected, and to find assistance if their numbers do not seem to be on a par with other organizations in the pregnancy help community.

Kirk Walden is a senior writer with Pregnancy Help News, an Advancement Specialist with Heartbeat International and author of The Wall. For banquet speaking engagements, contact Gloria Leyda at Ambassador Speakers Bureau. He can also be found at www.kirkwalden.com